Keyword: vaccinations

I Will Accept Your Surrender White-flagBy Kent Heckenlively I've made this offer several times in the past. I'm making it again. I am willing to accept the surrender of those who have perverted science, harmed a generation of children, and even as of this late date are willing to harm more children so as to not to upset the balance of their lives. It must be truly troubling for those who continue to fuel the epidemic of autism and other chronic diseases that even though you still maintain the trust of those in the media, the scientific community, and most...

The measles outbreak that began in Disneyland last December has infected more than 100 people in 14 states, most recently victimizing five infants at a Chicago area daycare. Last year, there were 644 cases of measles reported, by far the largest number in a decade and a half. The resurgence of a contagious and potentially deadly disease has reignited the nationwide debate over mandatory childhood vaccinations. Worldwide, there are still hundreds of thousands of measles-related deaths each year. A decade before children began receiving the measles vaccine (given as the MMR—measles, mumps, rubella—vaccine series since 1971) in the United States,...

Karen Hains of Bettendorf has chosen delayed vaccinations for her children. Hains’ daughter received her 2-month immunizations on schedule. Right afterward, she said, the baby “had bloody, mucusy stools for a week and could hardly nurse,” Hains said. The little girl also ran a fever of 102 degrees. “After the 4-months vaccinations, she had (a reaction) again, but a little less severe,” Hains said. “That was enough for me to realize that was definitely because of the shots. It wasn’t until my second child that I decided to do something different.” With her second child, she waited until after 6...

I am calling on the federal government to mandate vaccinations for all children, and to eliminate all of the silly loopholes that are creating chaos in so many communities throughout America. Vaccinations are not only about the individual, but they are also meant to protect the lives of others. As we have seen over the past several weeks, measles, and other communicable diseases that were all but eradicated decades ago, are popping up across the country, and putting people’s lives in danger. Basic childhood vaccines should be the legal requirement of every citizen in this country, except in the case...

In recent days a controversy has arisen over whether parents should be required to vaccinate their children. Some politicians with presidential aspirations were criticized for defending the rights of parents to make that decision. As an internal medicine doctor, I believe strongly in the efficacy of vaccines. I also believe strongly that our vaccines (and all of our medical advances) should be safe and derived in a morally principled fashion.There is an ethical concern about the measles vaccine issue that I do not believe the American public is aware: a component of the current MMR vaccine is derived from an...

The increase in numbers of American children diagnosed with autism is frightening. Autism cases have skyrocketed between 20 and 30 fold since the early 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2014, the CDC released a report stating that one child in 68 had autism, a 30 percent increase from only two years earlier. For boys, the risk was even worse — one in 42. The condition, which causes difficulty communicating and limited social skills, was so rare in past generations that the term autism wasn't even used in the modern sense until 1938. Autism wasn't classified as...

There has been much debate recently over vaccination mandates, particularly in response to the measles outbreak currently taking place throughout the country. At this juncture, there have been 102 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. during 2015, with 59 of them linked to a December 2014 visit to the Disneyland theme park in Southern California. (It is important to note that 11 of the cases associated with Disneyland were detected last year and, consequently, fall within the 2014 measles count.) This large outbreak has spread to at least a half-dozen other states, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Doctors are warning parents against reviving “measles parties” intended to expose children to the disease at a gathering with at least one infected person. The parties ostensibly help children build immunity against the disease and are used instead of vaccinating or leaving exposure up to chance. Such practices have been discouraged despite similar events such as “pox parties” which expose children to chickenpox for the purpose of building immunity. “CDPH strongly recommends against the intentional exposure of children to measles as it unnecessarily places the exposed children at potentially grave risk and could contribute to further spread of the outbreak,”...

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama gave cautious support for the anti-vaxxer cause a few years ago. While running for the presidency in 2008, Obama called the alleged link between autism and vaccination scientifically “inconclusive.” In the same year, Mrs. Clinton went further, expressing her support for an official study to track down “possible environmental causes” of autism “like vaccines.” No scandal — though the eventual winner of the race did win a few “Pinnochios” for his statement. (Studies at that time had already determined no such link, hence the Washington Post’s awarding of demerits to both Obama and his Republican...

It may have been Goethe who said there is nothing so frightening as ignorance in action, and it certainly has been active of late, especially when it comes to vaccinating kids against diseases that once killed and crippled and scarred and generally ravaged millions. Like smallpox, diphtheria, mumps, measles ... the whole catalogue of curses. But that was back in medicine's dark ages -- before modern science came to the rescue, thank goodness. For there were giants in the Earth in those days, microbe-fighters who were willing to defy popular superstition and apathy and all the forces of inertia to...

Ithaca, N.Y. — Despite the efforts of local officials, vaccination rates for some Ithaca schools are significantly lower than both the New York State and national averages. How at risk is Ithaca? There are no reported cases here, but state statistics show that some Ithaca area schools have vaccination rates for measles as low as 72 percent — compared to the average rate of 95 percent for the state at large. The 95 percent figure is key, because it’s the rate at which an “effective herd immunity” is established to prevent the spread of a disease like measles Ithaca [is]...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unwittingly ignited a firestorm earlier this week when he responded to a reporter's question in Great Britain about forced vaccinations of children in New Jersey by suggesting that the law in the U.S. needs to balance the rights of parents against the government's duty to maintain standards of public health. Before Christie could soften the tone of his use of the word "balance," Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul jumped into the fray to support the governor. In doing so, he made a stronger case for the rights of parents by advancing the view that all vaccines...

Some things are easy to avoid. DonÂ’t want to be hit by a train? DonÂ’t play on train tracks. DonÂ’t want your kid to get measles? Get them vaccinated. CanÂ’t afford to pay your employees more? DonÂ’t advocate for raising the minimum wage. Done and done. But many granola-crunching, tofu-eating progressives think they can kale their way to a super immune system for their kids, so theyÂ’re skipping the vaccinations for measles and everything else. And other progressives are closing their businesses because the laws for which they advocated have sent them to the poorhouse. To paraphrase President Barack ObamaÂ’s...

Following an outbreak of measles that was traced back to Disneyland, public-health authorities are ramping up their campaign to persuade all American parents that their children should be vaccinated. This campaign places pressure on some parents who have moral objections to the use of certain vaccines. We should not underestimate the vigor of the public-health campaign. Writers from RealClear Science and from Fox News-- not outlets ordinarily inclined to favor the expansion of government powersâ€”have called for mandatory vaccination of all children, and even jail time for parents who resist. Nor should we underestimate the seriousness of some parents who...

This week, controversy broke out over whether state governments have the power to require parents to have their children vaccinated. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, no stranger to compelling his citizens to stay off the roads during blizzards, announced that he had some sympathy for the anti-vaccination position: "I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well. So that's the balance the government has to decide." Kentucky Senator Rand Paul doubled down on Christie's remarks, stating, "I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound...

Apparently anything Rand Paul says is â€ścontroversialâ€ť these days, and that was certainly the case during a recent interview he did on Closing Bell this week. The subject at hand was the exhausting topic of vaccinations, (which the media canâ€™t get enough of) but during the discussion, the Kentucky Senator said something which deserves more attention, and not just regarding vaccinations. Why this is controversial I donâ€™t know. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) doubled down on his position that most vaccines should be voluntary, suggesting Monday that mandated immunization is an example of government overreach.â€śThe state doesnâ€™t own your children,â€ť...

Dr. Ben Carson, a likely 2016 GOP presidential contenders, believes there should be no “philosophical” or “religious” exemptions for vaccinations. “Although I strongly believe in individual rights and the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit, I also recognize that public health and public safety are extremely important in our society,” Carson told The Hill.

Liberals, conservatives, and almost everybody in between are hammering New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) after he defended parents' "choice" to not vaccinate their kids against the measles. "It's more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official," Christie said Monday when asked about recent measles outbreaks in the US, according to The New York Times. "I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well. So that's the balance that the government has to decide."

"I understand that there are families that in some cases are concerned about the effect of vaccinations. The science is, you know, pretty indisputable. We've looked at this again and again. There is every reason to get vaccinated, but there aren't reasons to not," said Obama. "You should get your kids vaccinated. It's good for them, but we should be able to get back to the point where measles effectively is not existing in this country."

A New York requirement that all children attending public school be vaccinated has been upheld by a federal court. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a regulation by New York City health and education officials. The rule was being challenged on grounds that the law was discriminatory and that its local applications violated freedom of religion. The court also upheld a regulation that allows school officials to prevent non-immunized children from going to school during an outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases. The state statute was being challenged by three New York City plaintiffs,...

November 17, 2014 Dear Physician, Each year, influenza results in an estimated 226,000 hospital admissions and 36,000 deaths. As you know, unimmunized individuals infected with influenza may be asymptomatic but still contagious and able to infect others. Health care personnel who are not immunized can unintentionally expose patients to seasonal influenza. Reducing influenza transmission from health care personnel to patients is a top priority both nationally and in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Healthcare Influenza Prevention Coalition, a group comprised of the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA), Wisconsin Medical Society (the Society), LeadingAge Wisconsin, Wisconsin Health Care Association (WHCA)/Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living...

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Health Commission has criticised the Government’s planned nation-wide Tetanus vaccination campaign. The statement has expressed deep concern regarding the vaccinations. It says that the campaign leaves many questions unanswered hence the alarm. This is contained in a media statement released by the Catholic Health Commission of Kenya currently meeting at St Patrick’s Pastoral Centre, Kabula in Bungoma. The statement is co-signed by Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru of Embu Diocese with his counterpart, Bishop Joseph Mbatia of Nyahururu on behalf of the Commisssion of the Bishops' Conference. The Commission includes 24 health facility managers drawn...

Japan’s nuclear watchdog has given the green light for two reactors to restart but the operator still has to persuade local communities they are safe. sendai-plant Widespread anti-nuclear sentiment has simmered in Japan ever since an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 caused meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant, sparking the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl. The country’s nuclear reactors were switched off after the catastrophe. Two reactors were briefly restarted last year but all of Japan’s nuclear plants are currently offline. The go-ahead from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) for two reactors at the Sendai plant (pictured) in southern...

CDC Senior Scientist William Thompson has alleged that a 2004 study he co-authored omitted key data that would have revealed a link between autism and a commonly-required childhood vaccine, MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella). “I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics. The omitted data suggested that African American males who received the MMR vaccine before age 36 months were at increased risk for autism,” said Thompson in a statement issued through his attorney Wednesday.

I was brought up on an incredibly healthy diet: no sugar till I was one, breastfed for over a year, organic homegrown vegetables, raw milk, no MSG, no additives, no aspartame. My mother used homeopathy, aromatherapy, osteopathy, we took daily supplements of vitamin C, echinacea, cod liver oil. I had an outdoor lifestyle; I grew up next to a farm, walked everywhere, did sports and danced twice a week, drank plenty of water. I wasn’t even allowed pop; even my fresh juice was watered down to protect my teeth, and I would’ve killed for white, shop-bought bread in my lunch...

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Deadly diseases, once nearly wiped out, are making a frightening comeback in Maryland and across the country. Now — a warning that parents who don’t vaccinate their children are putting others at risk. Linh Bui explores an alarming and controversial trend. Measles, mumps, whooping cough — all deadly diseases. Until recently — virtually eliminated thanks to vaccines that prevent kids from getting sick. But now doctors see an alarming trend — more and more people are coming down with these diseases. “Kids die from measles on a regular basis. Kids are in hospitals and can die from...

The CDC has quickly removed a page from their website, which is now cached here, admitting that more than 98 million Americans received one or more doses of polio vaccine within an 8-year span when a proportion of the vaccine was contaminated with a cancer causing polyomavirus called SV40. It has been estimated that 10-30 million Americans could have received an SV40 contaminated dose of the vaccine.

Abstract: Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise. Residues are found in the main foods of the Western diet, comprised primarily of sugar, corn, soy and wheat. Glyphosate's inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes is an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals. CYP enzymes play crucial roles in biology, one of which is to detoxify xenobiotics. Thus, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and...

As part of their sequestration-scaremongering roundup, the White House went straight for the worst-case scenarios that would hit all of the federal government’s departments and agencies in the spending cuts’ wake — terrible calamities, like “hundreds of thousands of Americans” losing access “to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings.” The administration circulated their state-by-state report through Congress to that effect, detailing how thousands fewer children would receive vaccinations as a direct result. But wait a moment, said Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris during a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting on Tuesday that included Dr. Tom Frieden,...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children in the United States with autism has risen by 78 percent over the past decade. It is now estimated that 1 out of every 88 children in the United States has some form of autism disorder.

According to latest figures, nearly one in 88 U.S. children have autism spectrum disorders. The report further urges national attention on the need for earlier diagnosis and treatment, especially in rural and minority communities. Figures released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show a 23% increase in autism spectrum cases from 2006 to 2008, and 78% increase since 2002. The largest increases in autism prevalence were found among black and Hispanic children, who have lagged behind whites in previous counts. Numbers are higher for boys, with one in 54 8-year-olds now considered to have autism, Asperger's...

Pediatricians fed up with parents who refuse to vaccinate their children out of concern it can cause autism or other problems increasingly are "firing" such families from their practices, raising questions about a doctor's responsibility to these patients. Medical associations don't recommend such patient bans, but the practice appears to be growing, according to vaccine researchers. In a study of Connecticut pediatricians published last year, some 30% of 133 doctors said they had asked a family to leave their practice for vaccine refusal, and a recent survey of 909 Midwestern pediatricians found that 21% reported discharging families for the same...

They refuse to get their kids vaccinated, they are suspicious of fluoridated water and their kids are more likely to be inflicted with ringworm than the average American. Trailer park rednecks? Nope. America’s bobo elites. Scratch a liberal suburbanite and you’re likely to find the modern equivalent of an Appalachian clay chewer underneath. This week Fox 25 interviewed Natalie Norton of the Boston YMCA about “the recent resurgence of measles and whooping cough.” Yesterday CBS reported a whooping cough outbreak on Long Island, in the environs of the Hamptons. And on Tuesday the University of California at Berkeley alerted all...

Smallpox is an acute, highly contagious and often fatal disease caused by the variola virus. The virus is so dangerous and potentially deadly that one confirmed case of smallpox is considered to be a public health emergency. Oh .. and there is no proven treatment for the disease once a person falls ill. You just administer fluids and antibiotics to handle any secondary infections, and hope that the patent is one of the 70%. The other 30% will die. In case you don't already know, Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. The eradication is so complete that we don't even vaccinate...

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 11, 2011 / 11:36 am (CNA).- Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez joined the California Catholic Conference in criticizing a new law that allows 12-year-olds to receive vaccinations against sexual diseases without their parent’s permission. “Parents bear the first responsibility for their children’s physical and spiritual well-being. This new law, however, bypasses parental involvement, wisdom and guidance,” said Archbishop Gomez in his Oct. 10 response to Governor Jerry Brown's decision to sign the vaccination proposal into law. The new law, which Brown authorized on Oct. 9, allows children as young as...

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed controversial legislation to greatly expand the rights of minors to obtain preventive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent, including an HPV immunization for cervical cancer. Brown did not explain his reasoning in the announcement Sunday afternoon. Assembly Bill 499 was carried by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. She said the legislation addresses a gap in the law that forbids prevention steps by doctors but allows minors under 18 to undergo abortions and post-infection treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without the approval of parents or a guardian. Critics counter the measure is an unwarranted...

(NaturalNews) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which has been comprehensively exposed as a vaccine propaganda organization promoting the interests of drug companies, is now engaged in a household surveillance program that involves calling U.S. households and intimidating parents into producing child immunization records. As part of what it deems a National Immunization Survey (NIS), the CDC is sending letters to U.S. households, alerting them that they will be called by "NORC at the University of Chicago" and that households should "have your child's immunization records handy when answering our questions." (See copies of the letter, below.) This NIS vaccine...

In Texas: "An affidavit signed by the applicant or, if a minor, by the applicant's parent or guardian stating that the applicant declines immunization for reasons of conscience, including a religious belief. A form must be obtained at the Health Department." In Alaska:"Statement by M.D., D.O., P.A, or advanced nurse practitioner stating that immunizations would be injurious to the health of the child or members of the child's family or household OR "Affidavit affirming immunization conflicts with "tenets and practices of the church or religious denomination of which the applicant is a member"

America is on course to have its worst outbreak of measles in more than a decade. At least 89 cases have been reported in the last four months alone, compared to an annual average of around 50. Most of those are linked to a big outbreak in Europe, where more than 6,500 people across 33 countries have fallen victim to the disease. Travellers are catching the highly contagious illness while on vacation, then bringing it back to the U.S. when they return home. There have been particularly bad outbreaks in Utah, where nine children were infected after one spent time...

Davos, Switzerland (CNN) -- Microsoft founder Bill Gates sat down recently with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta in Davos, Switzerland. The billionaire philanthropist was attending the World Economic Forum to push his mission of eradicating polio by 2012. Gates, through his foundation, also pledged $10 billion to provide vaccinations to children around the world within a decade. Gupta asked Gates for his thoughts about the alleged autism-vaccine connection. He also asked: Who holds ultimate accountability for the billions of dollars being spent on aid? Is a certain amount of corruption and fraud expected? Below is an excerpt of their...

As a Californian and a student studying public health, I find the whooping cough resurgence in California extremely troubling ["Whooping cough makes a comeback," Health and Science, Sept. 28]. People who refuse to be vaccinated, though misguided, are easy scapegoats, but they are not the driving force behind this trend. In the short term, more needs to be done to encourage booster vaccines in teens and adults to protect the most vulnerable: infants too young to be vaccinated.

California is in the midst of its worst outbreak of whooping cough in a half-century. More than 2,700 cases have been reported so far this year — eight times last year's number at this point. Seven of the victims, all infants, have died. And here's what really worries pediatricians like UCLA's Harvey Karp: Doctors thought they wiped out whooping cough when they developed vaccines decades ago. The disease hits young children hardest, especially ones who are not vaccinated or who have not yet built up full immunity. The prescribed vaccination regimen begins with a shot at two months and continues...

A major media campaign is in force for adults to get the Pertussis vaccination. The commercial just pulls at your heart strings to make you just jump up and want to get vaccinated today. Isn't that what commercials are meant to do? It is like all the commercials for toys around Christmas time. They want mom and dad to go out and buy their toy for little Johnny or Janie. Look at the advertizing campaign that Merck put out for Gardasil. That was the most successful campaign I have ever seen. You have millions of girls and young women going...

The battle for the safety and well being of our children from our own Federal Government continues as a "so called special court" ruled 3/12/2010 that vaccines could not have caused the Autism of an Oregon boy, William Mead. In a nutshell the Mead family believes that thimerosal-containing vaccines were the cause of their son's regressive Autism, but the court ruled otherwise as its ruling stated there were no scientific evidence to support their claims.

The media gave big headlines to this week's stories on a prestigious British medical publication's retraction of an article that had claimed to show a causal link between standard childhood vaccinations (measles, mumps and rubella) and autism. Yet the coverage of the Lancet affair didn't truly convey the outrageousness of the original publication or the gravity of its consequences -- consequences long festering, since the paper was published not last week but 12 years ago. Many of us in the scientific community recognized the "study" as junk when it appeared in 1998. Even before we learned of then-unknown ethical failings...

The doctor who sparked a worldwide panic over the MMR vaccine could be struck off after being found guilty yesterday of a series of misconduct charges related to his “unethical” research. Andrew Wakefield, who in 1998 claimed an unfounded link between the vaccination and autism, “showed a callous disregard” for the suffering of children, subjecting them to unnecessary, invasive tests, a hearing found. The General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that he abused his position of trust as he researched a possible link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease and autism in children. It found that Wakefield and two colleagues acted...